title: Quality-of-life trajectory of clients and carers referred to a community palliative care service.
abstract: Palliative care clients often have a reduced quality of life (QOL). The purpose of this study was to explore the QOL trajectory of clients and carers newly referred to a community palliative care service. A total of 49 clients and 43 carers respectively completed the McGill QOL scale (MQOL) and the caregiver QOL cancer scale (CQOLC) questionnaires. Baseline data relating to demographics, health status, and QOL are presented for the 49 participants and their 43 carers, and these are compared with follow-up data from 22 clients and 13 carers (matched pairs). On average, there were no significant differences between baseline and follow-up QOL scores in any respects for either clients or carers, including measures of burden, disruptiveness, positive adaptation, and financial concerns. Whether this indicates that the care administered succeeded in cancelling out the worsening of the clients' conditions or whether it indicates a shortcoming of the care was not assessed.
authors.affiliation: University of Western Sydney, Australia. tanya_connell@big-pond.com
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Connell
authors.forename: Rhonda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: Ritin S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.forename: Duong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: Meera
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Agar
authors.forename: Janeane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harlum
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003153:Community Health Services; D006801:Humans; D009517:New South Wales; D010166:Palliative Care; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012017:Referral and Consultation